A Thousand Autumns With You
by Shirahime Shou95
Summary: A/U. One cold autumn morning reminded Inuyasha of his promise to Kagome six years ago...


Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

...

Piled upon the dew-covered grass, were the variations of red, yellow, and brown maple leaves. A small gust of wind blew them away, scattering them on the street. It was an early, cold Sunday morning, a perfect time for everyone to sleep and rest at their home. But not for those squirrels. They were busy scurrying around to gather any food they could find, as they prepared themselves for the cold days of the winter that will soon come.

"Of course," Inuyasha said to himself as he watched the scene from the windows on his living room with a small smile, "it's another autumn after all."

The cold breeze hit his skin, and he got up from the sofa that he sat on and closed the windows. He then walked to the fireplace and lighted it.

As he was about to walk back to where he had sat, he could hear a high pitched, cheerful voice calling for him.

"Daaa-ddy!"

Inuyasha turned his gaze to his six-year-old daughter and smiled brightly to her. "Hello, my beautiful princess."

The little girl giggled and ran to her father's welcoming arms, snuggling to him for warmth. "Daddy, you didn't forget what day is today, right?"

Inuyasha grinned to his daughter and decided to tease her a little. "Hmmm…." He frowned, acting like he was in a deep thought, "I don't know. What day is it, Chiaki?"

Chiaki pouted as she released herself from her father's arms. "You're such a meanie, daddy…. You forget my birthday!"

Inuyasha chuckled and pulled her back in, "Of course I don't, princess. How could I ever forget my cute little angel's birthday?"

Chiaki's eyes brightened, and Inuyasha couldn't help but to feel a tint of pain lurched from the very bottom of his heart as he stared at her brown orbs. They were too painfully similar to _hers_….

.

_**6 years ago**_

"_Kagome…." Inuyasha stared at the pills in his hands in disbelief, "what are these…? Don't tell me you…."_

_Inuyasha was shocked and furious. _Kagome was diagnosed with cardiac tumor last year, just a few weeks after they discovered that she was pregnant. In only a few months, the cancer cells had arouse from her heart and quickly spread to the important tissues on her body. Since she had refused any kind of chemotherapy for the sake of the baby she's carrying, the doctor predicted that she would have less than three months. And today h__e had just found out that instead of taking her medications and painkillers, Kagome actually threw them away. Had he went to work that day, he probably would never know about it.__

_The raven-haired woman looked at her husband with tears brimming in her eyes."Inuyasha, I can't risk hurting the baby."_

_Inuyasha growled. "Don't be unreasonable, Kagome. You need these! You can't handle the pain!"_

"_Who says I can't?" Kagome retorted back stubbornly, "Inuyasha, who knows if those medicines are dangerous for the baby! It might endanger her life for all we know! Do you want that?"_

"_Gods, Kagome," Inuyasha exclaimed in frustration, "I've agreed not to do the chemotherapy for the sake of the baby, for **you.** Because you said it would make you happy. But this…? Please, Kagome,"_

_He fell to his knees. "Don't suffer yourself like this…. I beg you...I can't bear to see you suffering like this."_

_The look in Kagome's eyes softened, and she knelt down in front of her husband._

"_Inuyasha, love," she said in a soothing voice, "I'm not suffering, can you see? I'm perfectly happy. With you," she took one of his hands and put it lightly on her swollen abdomen, "and the little one here."_

_Looking at Kagome's motherly expression, Inuyasha was having a hard time controlling his tears. The woman in front of him was no longer the young girl he had met five years ago in college. She was a mature, warm-hearted and extremely selfless woman. But the most important thing from all; she was his wife- the woman whom he had deeply fallen in love with._

"_Baby," Inuyasha said weakly as he caressed his wife's face with his unoccupied hand, "if there's anyway that I can replace your place, and suffer your pain for you…. If I can, I would even gladly rip out my own heart for you, if it can save you."_

_Kagome closed her eyes shook her head calmly. "Even it you can, I wouldn't want it," She put her other hand to his chest, "I want your heart to beat strong for many years. Use it to shower the most important people in your life with love, use it to love," she smiled as she glanced at her protruding stomach lovingly, "our child."_

_Inuyasha was about to say something back to her, but then he saw her shivering slightly. He noticed that the windows were wide open._

"_Let me help you to the sofa," He said to her before he stood up, and walked with her to the sofa. _

_After he made sure that his heavily pregnant wife had sat comfortably, he went to close the windows._

"_Autumn is a very beautiful season, don't you think so, Inuyasha?" asked Kagome as Inuyasha sat himself beside her on the sofa._

_Inuyasha frowned slightly. "I can see how spring is pretty, flowers begin to blossom everywhere and stuffs. But autumn is a sad season, Kagome. It's when the leaves began to shed, leaving the trees to die."_

"_But Inuyasha, " Kagome closed her eyes and breathed deeply, "True, in spring you can see everything coming back to life after the dead of the winter. Then, summer comes and everything thrives. But when autumn comes, the trees shed their leaves not without a reason, Inuyasha. They shed it so that everyone could wait for the spring to come and bring them back to life. It might seem like an end, but it is actually a hope for a new beginning, don't you think?"_

_Inuyasha could only smile at his wife words. It amazed him how she had always been able to see the bright side in everything._

"_Yeah…" He said, "I guess you're right."_

"_Inuyasha," Kagome said with a smile as he sat himself beside her, "I think I know what I want to name her."_

"_Really?" Inuyasha asked her, "what is it?"_

"_Chiaki….." Kagome breathed deeply, "Chiaki Takahashi."_

"_It's a pretty name, baby. I love it." Inuyasha smiled to his wife before he enveloped her frame in his arms._

"_A thousand autumns…" Kagome murmured to herself as she snuggled to her husband's chest, "wouldn't it be lovely if we have a thousand autumns to spend together?"_

_A sharp pain shot from Inuyasha's chest, for he knew that Kagome probably would not be there with him next autumn._

_And he was right. Two months later, four days after she gave birth to a healthy, baby girl, Kagome passed away in his arms on the first night she got discharged from the hospital._

_And Inuyasha could never forget her last words to him on that night._

_"**I want you and our little Chiaki to have as many memories of autumn as possible, Inuyasha. Even without me by your side."**_

_._

_._

"Daddy?"

Chiaki's voice finally broke Inuyasha's reverie.

He looked down to her and gave her a smile. "Yes, princess?"

"You said you would take me to somewhere special on my birthday this year… where is it?" The little girl asked with sparkling eyes.

Inuyasha winked. "It's a secret," He touched the tip of her pink nose, "but tell you, what, Chiaki? For me, anywhere I go with you, my little princess, is a special place…."

Chiaki giggled. "Anywhere I go with you is special for me too, Daddy. I love you."

Inuyasha's heart fluttered at his daughter's warm words. He smiled and picked her up. "Well then, let us not waste anymore time."

He might not be able to spend a thousand autumns with Kagome, but he would surely fulfill his promise to her; and making every autumn a beautiful and unforgettable memory for himself and their daughter.

'And no matter how many autumns might pass,' He thought to himself, 'I will always keep you in my heart, Kagome.'

...

A/N: **Chiaki** means a thousand autumns in Japanese. I know, the story is kinda short and probably comes out not as deep as it should be. But I'm in a love hate relationship with this kind of story. I couldn't bring myself to write more than this, or else I would probably break down and cry, thus never finish the story at all (I'm such an emotional wreck, lol)


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